SPARTANBURG, S.C. – UNCG midfielder JC Ngando and goalkeeper Niclas Wild have been named the Southern Conference men’s soccer offensive and defensive players of the week, respectively, for all competition Sept. 13-19.
 
Ngando started both games for UNCG last week as the Spartans went 1-0-1. The sophomore helped UNCG to a 0-0 draw against Southern Methodist on Tuesday, Sept. 13, before adding one goal and an assist in the Spartans' 2-0 win over Winthrop on Saturday, Sept. 17. In the win over the Eagles, Ngando assisted on UNCG’s first goal of the contest, passing the ball to freshman Maddox Mallery, who found the back of the net to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead. In the 87th minute of the contest, Ngando capitalized on a penalty kick, tucking the ball into the lower left corner of the net to extend UNCG's lead to 2-0 and solidify the Spartans’ shutout victory. The Paris, France, native recorded his fifth assist in seven games and tallied his seventh career goal this week, while registering his first collegiate penalty goal as a Spartan. Ngando is tied with four of his teammates for the second-most goals on the team, with two, while his five assists are first on the squad. 
 
Wild played all 180 minutes inside the net for UNCG's two games against nonconference opponents last week. The junior faced 18 shots and recorded a career-high eight saves against the Mustangs before adding one save on four shots in the home win over the Eagles. The pair of shutouts, the 15th and 16th in his career, respectively, moved him into fourth in school history in that category. The Berlin, Germany, native is currently ranked seventh in the nation in goalkeeper minutes (630:00), 33rd in goals against average (0.714) and 14th in shutouts (3).
 
Last week, the Spartans received a No. 23 ranking in the United Soccer Coaches National Poll and a No. 6 ranking in the United Soccer Coaches South Region poll. The Spartans also climbed to No. 15 in the College Soccer News Poll and No. 12 in the TopDrawerSoccer rankings.
 
UNCG (5-0-2) travels to Buies Creek, North Carolina, on Wednesday, Sept. 21, for a nonconference match against Campbell at 7 p.m. ET, before heading to Louisville, Kentucky, on Tuesday, Sept. 27, for a nonconference match against Louisville at 7:30 p.m. ET.
 
Also nominated for offensive player of the week: Dylan Lane (Furman), Dylan Gaither (Mercer) and Oscar Billman (Wofford).
 
Also nominated for defensive player of the week: Trevor McMullen (Mercer) and Moa Mohammedi (Wofford).
 
2022 SoCon Men’s Soccer Offensive Players of the Week
Aug. 30       Kieran Richards, Sr., F, ETSU
Sept. 6       Steven Hernandez, Fr., F, UNCG
Sept. 13      Marco Afonso, Gr., F, UNCG
Sept. 20      JC Ngando, So., MF, UNCG
 
2022 SoCon Men’s Soccer Defensive Players of the Week
Aug. 30       Cole Hunter, R-Sr., GK, ETSU
Sept. 6        Trevor McMullen, Jr., GK, Mercer
Sept. 13      Ben Roberts, Sr., GK, Furman
Sept. 20      Niclas Wild, Jr., GK, UNCG